Display devices



G. A. TIMLIN DISPLAY DEVICES Oct. 10, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 17, 1965 INVENTOR 6ae6 A TIML IA/ Oct. 10, 1967 G, A. TlMLlN DISPLAY DEVICES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 1'7. 1965 1900M BROOK AVE 42 STREET J] INVENTOR JAM ATTORN EYS United States Patent M 3,345,766 DISPLAY DEVICES George A. Timlin, Flushing, N.Y., assignor to Acme Bulletin & Directory Board Corp., New York, N.Y. Filed May 17, 1965, Ser. No. 456,438 6 Claims. (Cl. 40-77) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A display device wherein a stationary support supports,

for rotary movement about a vertical axis, when the device is used, a carrier which has in a plane normal to its axis of rotation the configuration of a polygon which has a plurality of sides each of which defines a section of the carrier. These carrier sections respectively extend longitudinally in the direction of the axis of rotation of the carrier, and each section includes a pair of frames one of which is situated behind the other closer to the axis than this latter other frame. The frame which is nearer to the axis of rotation defines an elongated groove for receiving end portions of a plurality of display strips arranged one above the other along each section with the end portions of the strips received in the groove of each one of these inner frames, and the other outer frames of each section also defines an elongated groove. This latter groove of each outer frame of the carrier is adapted to receive peripheral edge portions of a transparent sheet, which thus becomes situated in front of the strips between the latter and an observer of the strips, so that the positions of the strips will not be disturbed by movement of the transparent sheet with respect to the outer frame.

The present invention relates to display devices.

More particularly, the present invention relates to display devices which are adapted to carry a plurality of strips which are provided with printed information visible to a viewer of the display device.

Display devices of this general type are well known. For example, directories situated on a wall in the lobby of an office building will contain panels provided with strips of this type. With display devices of this latter type whenever it is necessary to insert or remove a strip carrying the name of a tenant, for example, the entire panel isremoved from the assembly and is placed usually on a tabletop or the like where the strip is replaced or removed and then the panel is returned to the display device.

However, when dealing with a display device where the strips are independently supported without being carried by a solid panel particular problems are encountered when it becomes necessary to insert or remove a strip, and this is especially true where the strips are covered by a transparent sheet made of glass, for example. It has been found that when dealing with devices of this latter type the strips have a tendency to move out of their positions Where they rest one upon the other, sometimes causing a column of such strips to collapse completely, so that considerable inconvenience is involved in display devices of this latter type when replacing a strip or removing it or inserting additional strips.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide for a display device of the above type a con-' struction which will enable the operator to have free access to the strips in order to rearrange them without any possibility of collapse of a column of strips resting one upon the other.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device of this type which can revolve above a given axis so as to greatly increase the amount of information which can be provided within a given space.

Also, it is an object of the present invention to provide a structure of the above type which can easily be illuminated so that the information is readily visible.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a display device of the above type which is quite simple and of a light-weight construction while at the same time being very rugged so that a long life is assured to the device.

In particular, with the structure of the invention there is a rotary carrier which is supported by a suitable support means for rotation about a given axis, and this carrier has a plurality of sections which are distributed about its axis of rotation. Each of these sections is provided with a pair of frame means one of which is adapted to carry the strips which are provided with the printed information, for example, while the other frame means is provided to carry the transparent sheet which may be made of glass, for example, this sheet being situated in front of the strips. As a result of the expedient of providing entirely separate frame means one for the strips and the other for the transparent sheet, it is possible to remove the transparent sheet so as to have free access to the strips without risking any possibility of collapse of a column of strips. In order to provide this structure in the simplest possible manner occupying the smallest amount of space there is for each pair of frame means at each section of the carrier a wall which is common to the pair of frame means and situated therebetween so that it is this wall which extends between and separates the transparent sheet from the strips.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings which form part of the application and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevation of one possible embodiment of a structure according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional plan view, on menlarged scale as compared to FIG. 1, taken along line 22 of FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional plan taken in the same plane as that of FIG. 2 but showing on an enlarged scale the structure at the intersection between a pair of sections of the carrier of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional elevation of the structure of the invention, also on an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 1, the section of FIG. 4 being taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows and in a plane which includes the central axis of rotation of the display device of the invention;

FIG. 5 shows fragmentarily on an enlarged scale, as compared to FIG. 4, the structure situated at a lower corner of the display device of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is an example of one of the strips which can be incorporated into the display device of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the display device of the invention illustrated therein is particularly adapted to be used at fire stations where it is essential for firemen to have immediately a great deal of information about various locations from which fire alarms are sent. When a fire alarm is actuated a signal is sent to several fire stations and it is essential for the firemen to know as soon as possible whether the particular fire station is first due, second due, or third due at the location from which the alarm was sent. If the particular fire station is first due it will of course have certain duties to perform at the location of the fire which are different from fire stations which are second due and third due, so that this information is highly essential. Ordinarily this information would be derived from a file card system, and the fireman on watch at the particular fire station which receives an alarm signal would have to check through the file card system in order to determine whether the engine or the truck of the fire station had to respond to a first due location, or whether the particular engine or truck of the fire station was second due or third due. Of course, the job of finding just the right card in a file card system requires several seconds at a time when the preservation of life and property renders every second of critical importance. The device shown in FIG. 1 which enables the desired information to be obtained in a fraction of a second is a great boon to the community. With the display device 10 shown in FIG. 1 it is possible for the fireman on watch to determine almost instantaneously whether or not the particular fire station is first due, second due, or third due at the location from which the alarm was given. The display device 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a support means 12 and a carrier 14 which is carried by the support means 12 for rotation about a vertical axis when the device is set u for use as indicated in FIG. 1. The support means 12 would normally be mounted on a suitable desk top or tabletop, and the carrier 14 can easily be turned about its central vertical axis to give to the fireman on watch the required information almost instantaneously. As may be seen from FIG. 1, the device includes at its upper portion a lamp 16 which renders the display device easily visible at all times.

As is apparent particularly from FIG. 2, the carrier 14 of the particular example of a display device according to the invention which is illustrated in the drawings is of polygonal cross section in a plane which is normal to the axis about which the carrier 14 turns, and in fact in the illustrated example the carrier 14 has the cross section of a regular polygon which is shown as a hexagon in the example of FIG. 2. In this way the carrier 14 is provided with a plurality of sections 18 which are situated one beside the other and which are distributed about the central vertical axis of rotation of the carrier 14. As is shown most clearly in FIG. 3, at each section 18 the carrier 14 is provided with an outer frame means 20 and an inner frame means 22. The inner frame means 22 is adapted to support a plurality of strips 24 in a vertical plane with these strips extending across each section 18 and at each section 18 the several strips 24 are arranged in a column one above the other, as indicated in FIG. 1. The outer frame means 20 is adapted to position in front of these strips 24 a transparent sheet 26 which in the illustrated example is a clear pane of glass, so that the several strips 24 are clearly visible through the sheet 26 which at the same time protects the strips against dust and damage.

Referring to FIG. 6, one of the strips 24 is illustrated therein by way of example. These strips are made of a suitable fibrous material and preferably have an exterior black surface. Mounted on the exterior black surface at the front face of each strip 24 which is visible to the observer, are a plurality of white letters providing the desired information such as that shown in FIG. 6. This information will normally include the address, indicating the location of the alarm, and to the left of the address a code number which by its value as well as its coloring will indicate whether or not the particular station is first due, second due, or third due in response to this particular alarm. Thus, if the first digit of the number at the extreme left of the strip is red, and the rest of the digits are white, this is an indication that the alarm is from a location at which the particular fire station is first due, while if the second digit is red, then the fireman on watch will know that his station is second due, and so on. It will be noted that subsequent to the particular number are the letters ET, and these letters stand for engine and truck. If the letter E is red, then it is known that the engine is first due, while if the letter T is red, then it is known that the truck is first due. Thus, it is possible with such a system for the display device of the present invention to give the required information in a fraction of a second providing a great saving of time which often is of critical importance in the preservation of life and property.

In accordance with one of the features of the present invention, the pair of frame means 20 and 22 situated at each section 18 of the carrier 14 have a wall 28 (FIG. 3) which is common to both of the frame means and which is situated between the transparent sheet 26 and the vertical column of strips 24, so that this common wall 28 of the pair of frame means 20 and 22 on the one hand greatly simplifies the structure and reduces the space which it occupies and on the other hand provides an independent supporting surface for the column of strips 24 on the one hand and the glass or other transparent sheet 26 on the other hand. In this way it is possible, in a manner described in greater detail below, for the transparent sheet 26 to be removed and replaced without any possible disturbance of the column of strips 24, so that even though this column of strips remains vertical it is in no way disturbed and there is no risk of collapse of the column of strips when the transparent sheet 26 is removed.

As is also indicated in FIG. 3, the frame means 20 and 22 are formed from an elongated grooved member, and the wall 28 forms a partition extending along the interior of this grooved frame member so that the wall 28 defines from the groove of the grooved frame member a pair of grooves 30 and 32 indicated in FIG. 3. The outer groove 30 receives the peripheral edge portions of the transparent sheet 26, while the inner grooves 32 receive end portions of the strips 24. Thus, whenever it is required to insert a strip 24 in a column of strips or to remove a strip, the glass pane 26 can be removed without in any way disturbing the column of strips 24, and then these strips can be rearranged either by being raised so that the desired strip can be inserted or removed, or there is sufiicient clearance at the ends of the strips to enable them to be angularly tilted after a few are removed from the top of the column, to enable a selected strip to be introduced or removed.

Referring to FIG. 4, it will be seen that the support means 12 includes a base member 34 which is hollow and may be made of extruded cast iron provided with a bronze finish, for example. This base is adapted to be fixed in any suitable way on a level portion of a desk or table such as the top thereof.

The support means further includes an elongated hollow tube 36 which is threadedly connected at its bottom end to the top of the base 34, and this tube 36 can be made from a suitable iron pipe.

The carrier 14 includes a lower pan 38 which has a flat bottom wall 40 and an endless side wall 42 extending upwardly from the periphery of the bottom wall 40. This pan 38 is in the nature of a suitable reinforcement or support member and may be made of sheet metal. As is apparent from FIG. 2 the pan 40 is of polygonal cross section so that its endless side wall 42 has a plurality of corners which in the case of a regular hexagon, as shown in FIG. 2, are uniformly distributed about the axis defined by the pipe 36.

The wall 40 of the pan 38 is formed with a central opening through which the post or pipe 36 extends with clearance so that the pan 38 can turn freely about the post 36, and a steel washer 44 is braised to the underside of the pan 38 and also freely surrounds the post 36 so as to be freely turnable with respect thereto. Situated between the upper face of the base 34 and the underside of the washer 44 is a loose bronze washer 46 which at its bottom face engages the top of the base 34 and at its top face engages the underside of the washer 44, so that in this way a bearing is provided to support the carrier 14 for free rotary movement about the axis of the post 36.

The carrier 14 also includes an upper pan 48 which may be identical with the pan 38 and which also includes a bottom wall 50 and an endless side wall 52, this bottom wall 50 being formed with a central opening through which the post 36 extends with clearance. Thus, the upper pan 48 also is of a hexagonal cross section in the illustrated example, and the corners of the upper pan 48 are angularly aligned with the corners of the lower pan 38.

The carrier 14 also includes a plurality of angle irons 54 which are fixed at their bottom ends to the exterior surface of the side wall 42 of the pan 38, these angle irons having the same angle as that of the corners of the pans and being respectively joined to the pans at the corners thereof as by being welded to the pans, so that in this way the upper pan 48 is maintained at a given elevation above the lower pan 38, and at the same time the two pans together with. the angle irons 54 fixed to and extending between their corners form a rigid frame which is freely turnable about the post 36 and which at the same time provides a good solid support for the several strips 24 and transparent sheets 26. Although the elements 54 are referred to as angle irons, it is to be understood that these elements can be made of any sheet metal material or the like having sufiicient rigidity to provide the required robust frame of the display device'of the invention.

As is apparent particularly from FIGS. 2 and 3, the frame means 20 and 22 of adjoining sections are located relatively close to each other so that they can be directly fastened, as by welding, for example, to the angle irons 54, and as may be seen from FIG. 5 as well as FIGS. 2 and 3 each pair of frame means 20, 22 extends downwardly along one side of an angle iron, across the section 18 at the lowest part thereof, and then upwardly along the next angle iron, and these frame means 20 and 22 have open top ends so that the glass or other transparent sheet 26 can be introduced through these open top ends to move downwardly along the grooves 30 while the strips 24 can be introduced through the open top ends of the frame means 22 to move downwardly along the grooves 32. At their adjoining portions the frame means of a pair of adjoining sections are fixed to an elongated vertically extending rod 56 which may also be provided with a bronze finish, and the frame means at their adjoining portions may be fixed to the rod 56 as by being welded thereto, so that by reason of the welding of the several frame means to the angle irons 54 and to each other by way of the rods 56 an extremely strong construction is provided.

Moreover, if it is felt to be necessary the several angle irons 54 can be reinforced by suitable reinforcements 58 indicated in FIG. 4.

As is apparent from FIG. 5 at their lower horizontal portions the pair of frame means 20 and 22 at each section 18 also include an elongated grooved member which has an intermediate partition 18 forming a common wall of the pair of frame means and dividing the grooved frame member into a pair of grooves for respectively receiving the lower edge portion of the transparent sheet and the lowermost strip 24.

A hollow flexible conduit 60 made of suitable metal and well known in gooseneck lamps, for example, is fixed to' the top end of the hollow post 36 by any suitable fitting 62, indicated in FIG. 4, and it is this flexible conduit 60 which carries the lamp 16. Because of the hollow structure of the base 34 as well as the post 36 and the conduit 60 it is a simple matter to extend electrical conductors along the interior of these components to a socket within the lamp 16 so as to apply the electric current in a known way through actuation of a suitable switch to a bulb carried by the lamp 16.

The display device of the invention is completed by a hollow cover member 64 which extends over the upper pan 48 and which has a downwardly tapering configuration in the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. This 'cover member 64, which may be made of any suitable sheet metal, has a central opening through which the fiexible conduit 60 passes with clearance and the outer periphery of the cover 64 is of a hexagonal configuration so that the outermost edge portion 66 of the cover 64 will rest on the upper ends of the several frame means at the various sections 18 of the carrier, as is apparent from FIG. 4.

With this construction whenever it is desired to rearrange the several strips of any section 18, the cover 64 can be easily moved upwardly along the conduits 60, thus giving access to the open top ends of the pair of frame means 20 and 22 of the particular section. Then the transparent sheet 26 is removed upwardly through the open top ends of the grooves 30, so that free access may be had to the strips 24. Any desired number of strips 24 can be moved upwardly and out of the frame means 22 carrying the'same, or, as was pointed out above, a group of strips may be raised and then through suitable angular positioning of a desired strip it can be introduced into or removed from the column of strips. Thereafter the transparent sheet 26 is replaced and the cover 64 is returned to its initial position. All of the outer surfaces can be provided with a bronze finish so as to give a good contrast with the white lettering carried by the strips so that this lettering is easily visible. It is a simple matter for the operator of the display device to turn the carrier 14 so as to render any desired section 18 immediately visible, and then the coded information carried by the strips gives the desired information at a glance.

Moreover, it will be noted that with the particular structure of the invention the removal and replacing of the glass or other transparent sheet 26 does not provide any risk of disturbing the column of strips 24.

I claim: 7

1. A display device comprising a stationary support means, a carrier supported by said support means for rotation about a substantially vertical axis when the device is used, said carrier having in a sectional plane normal to said axis the configuration of a polygon and said polygon having a plurality of sides each of which defines a section of said carrier, said carrier sections each extending longitudinally in the direction of the axis of rotation of said carrier and each section including a pair of frame means one of which is situated behind the other closer to said axis than said other frame means, said one frame means defining an elongated groove for receiving end portions of a plurality of display strips arranged one above the other along each section with the end portions of said strips received in said groove of said one frame means, and the other frame means of each of said sections also defining an elongated groove, said groove of said other frame means of each section of said carrier being adapted to receive peripheral edge portions of a transparent sheet which thus becomes situated in front of said strips between the latter and an observer of said strips, whereby the positions of said strips will not be disturbed by movement of said transparent sheet with respect to said other frame means.

2. A device as recited in claim 1 and wherein there is at each section of said carrier a wall common to both of said frame means and situated between and separating the transparent sheet from the strips.

3. A display device comprising a base adapted to rest on a support surface, an elongated post fixed to and extending upwardly from said base, a lower support pan formed with an opening through which said post extends and being freely turnable on said base at a region thereof surrounding said post, and an upper pan also formed with an opening through which said post freely extends, said upper pan being substantially identical with said lower pan and situated at an elevation substantially higher than the same, said pans each being of the configuration of a regular polygon and each having a bottom wall situated in a plane normal to said post and a side wall extending upwardly from said bottom wall and having said polygonal configuration, said pans being angularly aligned with respect to each other, so that the corners of said upper pan are situated directly over the corners of said lower pan, a plurality of angle irons respectively fixed to said corners of'said lower pan and extending upwardly therefrom to said corners of said upper pan to which said angle irons are respectively fixed, so as to maintain said upper pan at a given elevation above said lower pan, whereby each pair of adjoining angle irons defines a given space, and an elongated frame member extending along each angle iron at one side of said space, then extending across said space approximately at the elevation of said lower pan, and then extending upwardly along the other side of said space along the other one of said pair of angle irons, so that a frame member is situated in this way at each of said spaces defined between pairs of adjoining angle irons, and each frame member being in the form of an elongated grooved member carrying in its interior a partition dividing said grooved member into inner and outer grooves, said inner groove being situated nearer to said post than said outer groove and being adapted to receive a plurality of strips whose ends are situated at parts of said inner groove which extend along said angle members, while said outer groove is adapted to receive the peripheral edge portions of a transparent sheet.

4. A device as recited in claim 3 and wherein said base and post are hol-low so that an electrical connection can be made therethrough with a lamp situated over said post and capable of having light therefrom directed onto the strips which carry information visible through said glass sheet, said pans being turnable together with said angle irons and frame members about said post.

5. A device as recited in claim 3 and wherein said frame members have open top ends so that said strips can be dropped downwardly along said inner grooves and said transparent sheet can be inserted downwardly into said outer groove of each frame member.

6. A device as recited in claim 5 and wherein a cover member is situated over and rests on said frame members so as to be removable therefrom simply by being lifted upwardly away from said frame members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,338,790 4/1920 Renaud 4064 2,863,237 12/1958 Matthews 4077 3,105,315 10/1963 Snethen 40-77 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

W. GRIEB, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A DISPLAY DEVICE COMPRISING A STATIONARY SUPPORT MEANS, A CARRIER SUPPORTED BY SAID SUPPORT MEANS FOR ROTATION ABOUT A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL AXIS WHEN THE DEVICE IS USED, SAID CARRIER HAVING IN A SECTIONAL PLANE NORMAL TO SAID AXIS THE CONFIGURATION OF A POLYGON AND SAID POLYGON HAVING A PLURALITY OF SIDES EACH OF WHICH DEFINES A SECTION OF SAID CARRIER, SAID CARRIER SECTIONS EACH EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY IN THE DIRECTION OF THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF SAID CARRIER AND EACH SECTION INCLUDING A PAIR OF FRAME MEANS ONE OF WHICH IS SITUATED BEHIND THE OTHER CLOSER TO SAID AXIS THAN SAID OTHER FRAME MEANS, SAID ONE FRAME MEANS DEFINING AN ELONGATED GROOVE FOR RECEIVING END PORTIONS OF A PLURALITY OF DISPLAY STRIPS ARRANGED ONE ABOVE THE OTHER ALONG EACH SECTION WITH THE END PORTIONS OF SAID STRIPS RECEIVED IN SAID GROOVE OF SAID ONE FRAME MEANS, AND THE OTHER FRAME MEANS OF EACH OF SAID SECTIONS ALSO DEFINING AN ELONGATED GROOVE, SAID GROOVE OF SAID OTHER FRAME MEANS OF EACH SECTION OF SAID CARRIER BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE PERIPHERAL EDGE PORTIONS OF A TRANSPARENT SHEET WHICH THUS BECOMES SITUATED IN FRONT OF SAID STRIPS BETWEEN THE LATTER AND AN OBSERVER OF SAID STRIPS, WHEREBY THE POSITIONS OF SAID STRIPS WILL NOT BE DISTURBED BY MOVEMENT OF SAID TRANSPARENT SHEET WITH RESPECT TO SAID OTHER FRAME MEANS. 